EDGERTON — Vander Stoep Furniture, located at 511 Fourth Ave. W., Edgerton, is looking to the future after sustaining damage from a fire Monday afternoon.
The cause of the fire in the facility's showroom remains unknown, said owner Jesse Van Hofwegen. He is waiting on a state fire marshal to come do an inspection and determine what may have caused the blaze.
As word of the flames and smoke circulated throughout the community, Van Hofwegen said, about 150 local residents showed up to Vander Stoep without being asked to see how they could help.
Luckily, many items in the Vander Stoep inventory were undamaged by the fire. The first step was to remove these from the front half of the store — an effort that took only two hours with many hands on deck, Van Hofwegen said.
"It's been incredible the amount of support we've had," he said. "We appreciate all the encouragement."
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In addition to physical labor Monday afternoon, Van Hofwegen said community members have dropped off food, provided child care and offered their own storage spaces as temporary holding places for remaining inventory.
Until the fire marshal arrives, the store cannot set a date to officially reopen, but Van Hofwegen is working to empty the warehouse space of used and discounted furniture with the hope that he will be able to use the warehouse as a temporary showroom while damage from the fire is repaired.
The store has no plans to liquidate, he emphasized. For now, staff is available by phone from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and customers may purchase items directly from the Vander Stoep website. Floor installation is continuing as usual.
As more details come together, Van Hofwegen will announce when the store plans to reopen for regular business.
